Why I Started Investor Code
The short version
Four principles sit underneath everything Investor Code does. The first is radical transparency: unlike my syndication business, Properties and Pathways, Investor Code is not governed by an AFSL, which means I can give you real opinions on what has worked and what hasn’t without the compliance filter. The second is that I want to educate, not advise. Nothing here is personal or financial advice. It is a look at what has worked and what hasn’t, so you can decide what applies to you.
The third principle is bringing clarity and simplicity to a genuinely complex market. Commercial property has leases, covenants, titles, caveats and legislation layered on top of it, and most of that complexity does not move the needle. About 20% of what you do drives 80% of the outcome, and I try to lead with that 20% every time. A simple way to see it: would you rather a 5-year lease to McDonald’s or a 10-year lease to McDonald’s? Would you rather McDonald’s as your tenant or the kebab shop down the road? That is just human nature, and it is exactly what drives value in this asset class. The fourth principle is empowering independent thinking. Form your own opinion, test what you hear, and do not just follow the crowd when a market gets hot.
Why listen to me at all? Twenty years of commercial property investing experience, over $550 million of transactional experience across buying, leasing and selling, and well over 100 leasing deals. My syndicated business, Properties and Pathways, has averaged a 21% per annum return for investors, and I have never lost a dollar doing it. Personally and for private clients, there are countless examples of 100%+ and 200%+ returns, because that is where I have been able to test how far you can push value while still de-risking a deal from day one.
Just as important is what you will not get. I am not a land developer, not a land subdivision expert, not a construction expert, and I do not touch alternate asset classes like hotels, self storage or data centres. I find investment-grade retail, industrial and office assets and add value to them. That is the whole game. Over 20 years I have refined that down to three key actions that drive almost all of the value in a commercial property deal, and a discipline of saying no to 999 properties out of 1,000 so I can go hard on the one that works. That framework is what the rest of this channel is built around, and it is fully laid out in the six-step framework.
Where to go from here
Most people start with Cal’s Fortify Your Wealth series (https://investorcode.com.au/fortify-your-wealth-series), a multi-part video series on the strategies he uses when the market shifts, and there are weekly videos on YouTube (https://youtube.com/@InvestorCodeAU).
If you would rather talk it through, book a quick 15-minute intro call with the Investor Code team: book an intro call.
And for the full framework, that is the Commercial Property Mastery online course (https://investorcode.com.au/online-course).
Frequently asked questions
What is Investor Code?
Investor Code is Cal Doggett’s commercial property education platform, built on four principles: radical transparency, educating rather than advising, bringing clarity to a complex market, and empowering independent thinking.
What is Cal Doggett’s commercial property experience?
Over 20 years in commercial property, more than $550 million in transactions, well over 100 leasing deals, and a syndicated business, Properties and Pathways, averaging 21%+ per annum for investors.
Does Investor Code give financial advice?
No. Investor Code is an educational platform, not a licensed advisory service. Content shares what has worked and what hasn’t so investors can form their own view, not personal or financial advice.
What’s the difference between Investor Code and Properties and Pathways?
Properties and Pathways is Cal’s syndicated investment business, governed by an AFSL and its associated compliance requirements. Investor Code is the education brand, free of that structure, which is why the content can be more direct and opinionated.
What asset types does Cal Doggett focus on?
Investment-grade retail, industrial and office commercial property. He is explicit about what he does not specialise in: land development, land subdivision, construction, and alternate asset classes like hotels, self storage or data centres.
Full transcript
Lightly edited from the original video for readability.
Hey everyone, it’s Cal Doggett here, founder of Investor Code. This is my first YouTube video, so bear with me, I’m going to do my best. I’m filming from my home in Swanbourne, Western Australia, in my library, which luckily doubles as my office. What I want to do in this first video is explain my intention with Investor Code, and the principles that will underpin the content I bring you on a regular basis.
The first principle is one I’ve held true for my entire professional career, and anyone who has worked with me at Properties and Pathways knows this: radical transparency. Investor Code gives me a forum that isn’t governed by an AFSL, so there are none of the ASIC compliance limitations that apply to my syndication business. That means I can give you real opinion, real experience, what has worked and what hasn’t, in an authentic way. If you don’t like that, unsubscribe. If you do, I hope you get real value from it.
The second principle is that I want to educate rather than advise. This is not personal advice, this is not financial advice, I’m not telling you what to do. I’ll use radical transparency, real experience, and an honest look at what has and hasn’t worked, as a way to teach the fundamentals. Commercial property is a gorgeous asset class, and I want to share that in an educational way, not a prescriptive one.
Third, I want to bring clarity and simplicity to a genuinely complex market. Commercial property is far less liquid than residential, there are leases, covenants, restrictions, caveats, titles and legislation governing how you interact with tenants. What I try to do is cut through that and get clear on the handful of things that actually move the needle, because roughly 20% of what you do drives 80% of the outcome. A simple example: would you rather a 5-year lease to McDonald’s or a 10-year lease to McDonald’s? Would you rather lease to McDonald’s or the kebab shop down the road? That’s just human nature, and it translates directly into value in commercial property.
Fourth, I want to empower your independent thinking. It’s paramount that you form your own opinion. If you like what I say, keep watching and subscribing. If something doesn’t sit right, go find a different source and form your own view. Test opinions against each other rather than accepting them blindly, especially when markets get hot and speculative and it’s easy to follow the crowd. That’s the whole genesis of Investor Code: radical transparency, education, and clarity, so you can absorb the content and decide for yourself whether it applies to your financial life.
So why listen to me? I’ve got 20 years of commercial property investing experience, well over $500 million worth of transactional experience across buying, leasing and selling assets, and well over 100 leasing deals, probably closer to 200 now. Through that time, my syndicated business, Properties and Pathways, has generated an average return for investors of 21% per annum. I don’t think that rate is achievable indefinitely in every market, but I’m proud of it. What I’m more proud of is the countless examples of 100%+ returns I’ve generated personally and for private clients, because that’s where I’ve been able to test how far you can push the upside while still de-risking a deal from day one.
What you’ll get from Investor Code: case studies on deals I’ve worked on, including the good and the bad ones, how to add value at every stage of the ownership cycle, commentary on interest rates and notable transactions, and the difference between owning a single asset versus a portfolio of assets across different classes. I’ll also share what I’m doing with my own finances, because I’ll never suggest you do something I haven’t done myself.
Equally important is what you won’t get. I won’t pretend to be something I’m not. I’m not a land developer, though I’ve developed land for clients when it was an obvious extension of an existing asset. I’m not a land subdivision expert, though we’ve currently got about 70 subdivisions running in WA, because the market showed a genuine opportunity, not because it’s my core skill. I’m not a construction expert. And alternate asset classes like hotels, self storage and data centre management are not my game. I’m good at ordinary, vanilla, investment-grade assets: retail, industrial and office. That’s about as good as it gets, and over 20 years I’ve refined a model that gets the biggest upside from the smallest amount of effort.
That model comes down to a formula: three key actions that drive enormous value in commercial property. Once you understand those three actions, you’ll see they sit behind almost everything I do. Then you go and find opportunities that let you take those actions, not the other way around. Most people get this backwards, they buy a property and then wait for an opportunity to add value. I do the opposite: figure out the action first, then find the property to match it. Part of that formula is learning to say no, I might buy two or three properties a year out of everything I look at, refining and refining until one works. I’ll be teaching exactly what you need to know to secure opportunities and de-risk them before you buy, because that formula works, I promise you.
So, with all that said, I’m genuinely excited to share this journey with you. This is my first YouTube video, so let me know in the comments if it was too long, too short, or missed the mark, and I’ll keep refining as I go. With a huge amount of respect and humility, welcome to the Investor Code YouTube channel. I can’t wait for what’s ahead. Thanks so much for listening.
TL;DR
Investor Code is built on four principles: radical transparency, educating rather than advising, bringing clarity to a complex market, and empowering independent thinking. Behind those principles sits 20+ years of commercial property experience, $550M+ in transactions, 100+ leasing deals, and a syndicated business that has averaged 21%+ per annum for investors.